Kurma Purana — Uttara Bhaga, Shloka 25
Rudrakoṭi, Madhuvana, Puṣpanagarī, and Kālañjara — Śveta’s Bhakti and the Subjugation of Kāla
श्रुत्वा वाख्यं गोपतेरुग्रभावः कालात्मासौ मन्यमानः स्वभावम् / बद्ध्वा भक्तं पुनरेवाथ पाशैः क्रुद्धो रुद्रमभिदुद्राव वेगात्
śrutvā vākhyaṃ gopaterugrabhāvaḥ kālātmāsau manyamānaḥ svabhāvam / baddhvā bhaktaṃ punarevātha pāśaiḥ kruddho rudramabhidudrāva vegāt
Ao ouvir as palavras do Senhor dos seres (Gopati), aquele feroz—Kāla, cuja essência era o Tempo—julgou suprema a própria natureza. Então amarrou de novo o devoto com seus laços e, irado, arremeteu contra Rudra com grande velocidade.
Sūta (narrator) recounting the episode to the sages
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It contrasts the limited power of “Kāla” (time-bound force that binds) with Rudra as the higher lordly principle; the implicit teaching is that bondage belongs to time-conditioned nature, while the supreme reality transcends it and protects the devotee.
The verse uses the Pāśa (noose) as a classic yoga-śāstra metaphor for bondage; in Pāśupata-oriented reading, liberation comes by turning from time-driven impulses (kāla-dharma) to devotion and surrender to Īśvara, who cuts the bonds.
Though Rudra is the immediate divine focus here, the Kurma Purana’s broader synthesis frames such episodes within a single Īśvara-tattva: the devotee’s refuge is the one supreme Lord manifesting as Śiva-Rudra and also praised elsewhere as Viṣṇu/Kūrma.